Findhorn visit

25 June 2017

TBI  Findhorn visit  24 June 2017

On Saturday 24th June, Transition Black Isle members and friends were invited by Maria Cooper on a visit to the Findhorn Foundation, followed by a talk about the last Transition Hubs Gathering in Santorso, Italy.

Maria works for both Transition Scotland and SCCAN (Scottish Communities Climate Action Network) and has lived in Findhorn for three years.  The gathering offered a chance to have an interesting exchange about ideas and experiences concerning the Transition Network, Ecovillages and the Climate Action Network.  With the support of Carin Schwartz, founder of  Transition Town Forres and member of the Findhorn Foundation, Maria guided the visitors through the different parts of the Ecovillage, giving a very complete description of its history and functioning.

Maria Cooper and guests at Findhorn

The complexity of the Findhorn Foundation with its different neighbourhoods, including not only several community, arts and spiritual centres but also a shop, a swap centre and the famous “Living Machine” - an ecological wastewater treatment plant - shows that there is not just one way towards a more sustainable future.

Thanks to the peaceful and quiet environment of Findhorn and Maria’s and Carin’s hospitality, the visit was an enriching experience for everyone.  We could almost think, that Findhorn’s philosophy of an inner guidance towards a life in harmony with nature, can be seen as relatively close to the Transition Network’s idea of an “Inner Transition”.

We look forward to similar events of cooperation between like-minded organisations in the future, because this kind of inspiration fuels our creativity and enables us to conceive new ways of sustainable living.


Lara Feldman.